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Best Oil for MPG - 8.7% increase?

that page shows that it costs more to use synthetic oil. this is already established - the point of synthetic oil is to reduce engine wear, not to reduce oil changes and hence cost.

something like 95% of engine wear is at startup: the oil has drained overnight and the oil pump doesn't start until the engine moves, so only whatever is left from the last time the engine was run is lubricating when you turn the key. (if the engine hasn't been run for a long time, you are supposed to squirt oil in the cylinders and other places and turn the engine over by hand before subjecting it to actual run abuse.)

sythetic oils leave more of a coating on the cylinders & pistons than conventional oil. About 60 seconds after you start the car, the difference is gone. But if you want to not burn oil and start replacing worn parts 100,000 miles from now, those first 60 seconds matter alot.

HCH apparently use 0w20, the 0 indicating a much thinner consistancy when cold, probably to ease the electric starting- especially during the winter like here in NY. seems to me, thinner when cold, means less coating as well - I will use mobil 1 in my HCH. I've actually always used mobil 1 in my cars. the ford explorer I'm replacing is 14 years old, has 150K miles and is still running strong. unfortunately the body is completely rusted out & the tranny (original) is on it's way. oh well - I love my new hybrid!

Best Oil for MPG - 8.7% increase?

WOW David-
neat link- amazing info in that report. I've copied it so I can sit and read it when I'm not at work!
I know alot of the guys who discuss hybids use synthetic oils and say they get better mileage. my car is too new- (2 wks) but I will switch to synthetic at my first oil change. now it's too cold, and it's breaking in so my mileage is only 40 for my first tank. hopefully, I'll get better at driving for mpg as well.

Best Oil for MPG - 8.7% increase?

I've used Mobil 1 in all my cars every since it was invented. I recent found some 0-20w Mobile 1 and plan on using it for my first HCH oil-change when that happens at 10,000 miles.

I've got a '93 Ford Aerostar with 120K on it and all I've ever done to it was have Ford put in a new set of sparkplugs at 80K. They were so clean that I would still be driving on them if I knew. I put in Motorcraft double platium and never plan on changing them again.

Best Oil for MPG - 8.7% increase?

Best Oil for MPG - 8.7% increase?

I seriously doubt there was "no warning". It was probably worded a lot like Volkswagen though, which also has actually paid to replace people's entire engines due to sludging up when using conventional oil instead of synthetic. In VW's case, the manual states something like "Required oil: VW 502.00" which just happened to be a synthetic oil.

Most people blew it off and assumed that if the manual says they can do oil changes every 10,000 miles on VW oil, that means they can do oil changes every 10,000 miles on Wal-Mart 99-cent oil too. Fact is, that's just not true. Synthetic oil really does offer longer life and greater protection than the cheap stuff.

As for me, I've decided to start having my oil analyzed so I can get a better handle on exactly what the wear characteristics are for various intervals of oil changes. If you check out Blackstone Laboratories ( http://www.blackstone-labs.com/ ) you'll see that for $20 you can have oil samples checked out to determine the quality of the oil and an idea of what's going on inside your engine. It appears to be pretty worthwhile for those of us that intend to keep our cars running a long time while also trying to get as much time between oil changes as possible before the oil breaks down.

Best Oil for MPG - 8.7% increase?

I found the 0-20w oil is much cheaper at:http://www.hondapartsdeals.com/
and must put in part number on the search for parts:
08798-9029 It is &lt;$4/quart and then look at the shipping.
They also sell mobil1 0-20w.